The Farming Families is distributed free exclusively to the farmers, ranchers and producers in rural Sioux, Plymouth and Lyon Counties. All rights reserved. Content in this magazine should not be copied in any way without the written permission of the publisher. The Farming Families assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Content in articles, editorial and advertisements are not necessarily endorsed by The Farming Families and
& Promotion.
McGILL’S LIFE AND TIMES AT ROCK VALLEY HAY AUCTION
By Bob Fitch
“The hay market will always be going up and down,” said Paul McGill, owner of Rock Valley Hay Auction.
“When it's really high, I'm not very popular with the buyers here locally. When it’s low, then I’m not very popular with the sellers. So every street corner I walk around, I’ve got to be careful, because you don't know if you’ll catch hell or praise. You can’t make everybody happy.”
Paul grew up in Rock Valley as a “city kid.” His father was an attorney who also owned several farms in the area and Paul always liked working on the farm. He bought the hay auction in Rock Valley in February
Paul McGill with his daughter, Meredith. Paul has owned Rock Valley Hay Auction since 1996.
1996. At the time, he was farming and was told that the auction business would only take about 20 hours a week. “It was a great decision to buy it. As far as it being only 20 hours a week, well, that has changed tremendously. When I purchased the auction, I thought I could keep on farming, but I learned I had to choose one thing or the other. Hogs taught me I should doing this.” About five years in, he gave up farming.
“When I got into it, we were selling a lot of small square bales, which was great, but they were very labor intensive. I had to make a decision on where we’d focus, going this way or that. I went away from the small squares, which happened to be the right decision. It was pure accident.” He said the market cycles every five to eight years with the change in demand for big round bales versus big square bales.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
During the winter months, Rock Valley Hay Auction has two sales per week – one on Monday and one on Thursday. Sales are just on Thursdays during late spring, summer and early fall. “Our buyer-customers are primarily from northwest Iowa into the fringes of Minnesota and South Dakota,” he said. His northwest Iowa trade area is basically bordered by U.S. Highway 20 on the south; Highway 71 on the east; and up to the Minnesota border.
The strength of livestock production in northwest Iowa keeps the auction humming. “Most of our buyers produce just a small percentage of their hay. They figure it’s better for them to buy in their hay and straw and use their land for production of corn silage,” he said. The general shortage of pastures locally contributes to a strong market for grass hay.
Historically, the hay supply has been from west to east across South Dakota and Nebraska, which, on the whole, still applies. These days, though, there is more hay coming from Minnesota, Wisconsin and eastern Iowa. Supply from western South Dakota is also good because ranchers there have thinned the size of their cow herds. In recent years more straw is coming from the Red River Valley, North Dakota and Manitoba.
Supply sources vary due to weather conditions. “Last year was the first time I can remember that there was no area that didn't have pretty good production. Right now, we’re in a bottleneck with supply greater than demand. Planting season is almost always the slowest time of the year at the sale. At the same time, usually, it’s also the highest-priced hay of the year before farmers begin to harvest the new summer crop. This year is maybe bucking that trend a little bit.”
Northwest Iowa livestock feeders really rely on Rock Valley Hay Auction when the chips are down. “When there's a tight supply, that's when we really excel. For example, when people lose their regular hay source because of a drought,
we help them fill in the gap.” Paul said 2024 was a good year with plentiful supply. While it wasn’t necessarily fancy hay, there was a good bulk supply.
The total number of buyers has declined over the years as farm sizes became larger. “Another thing that’s changed over the years is our dairy industry in
Sioux County. When I started in ’96, I think there was only one dairy with more than 500 cows. Today, there’s two or three dozen that size or considerably larger.” As a percentage of sales, dairy producers have grown from 20-25 percent up to almost 50 percent.
ROCK VALLEY HAY AUCTION GOES WAY BACK
The exact birth date of the hay auction in Rock Valley is unknown, but it stretches back at least 70 years. Hay sales were originally an add-on to the weekly livestock auction. Paul said, “I remember going to the sale barn when I was a kid. It was an old school operation and, for us kids, it had entertainment value.”
In 1980, the livestock auction and the hay auction split. The livestock
CENTER & ROCK RAPIDS
B&B Gates & Supply offers stock gates, confinement gating packages, custom built gates, bunk rail and continuous fencing. Some benefits include heavy-duty construction, minimal upkeep and durable materials. 712-726-2404 | www.bandbgates.com
Buyers move from load to load as Eric Bleeker auctions off the hay.
portion was sold to Marion Rus and Earl DeBey. They eventually moved their business to Sioux Center. John Harmelink continued to run the hay auction before selling it to Paul in 1996.
TRUCKERS, PEOPLE, FIRE AND FLOOD
As the auction grew, Paul added trucks and truckers to the company for those customers who had transportation challenges. “I bought a pickup and a couple of goosenecks, and that’s how I got started trucking. It’s been an essential part of the business. At one time, I think we had 12 or 13 trucks and 30-some trailers. I’ve still got a lot of trailers, but I don't have as many trucks now. I’m short of drivers and demand for me to do the trucking has gone down.”
“The greatest thing about the hay business is the people. Name
any town in South Dakota, I bet there will be couple people that I consider friends, or, at a minimum, are acquaintances. That’s the fun part and that'll last forever, I hope.” Paul’s older brother, Frank, works part-time at the auction and Paul’s daughter, Meredith, is a full-time employee. Eric Bleeker takes time away from his career as a dairy cow insemination technician to be the auctioneer. Local dairy producers trust Eric in his primary career and that trust transfers over to the hay auction. “Eric’s a great asset to have here,” Paul said.
The past several years proved to be challenging. First, the business was hit by fire in 2023 and then it was drowned out by flood like so many others in Rock Valley in 2024. He sold his long-time location on the north side of Highway 18 to the city and is now located on the south side of the highway, just east
of Town & Country Implement. The new site is on a long-term lease and he eventually hopes to find a somewhat larger location.
SOME REAL CHARACTERS
There are always a few funny, quirky characters in any business or profession. One Rock Valley Hay Auction producer from out of state used to protect his stacked hay crop from deer by passing water around the perimeter. One of Paul’s auctioneers used to push and push to get just one more bid on a lot of hay – to the point of exasperation. One trucker regularly drove 45 miles out of his way to visit a waitress he had a crush on. “Some people have a lot of alone time,” Paul smiled. “We’ve pretty much heard it all. I mean, it's just almost like you’re a bartender.”
SUNNY DAY IN MAY
Planting corn near the Sioux-Plymouth County line. Photo by Bob Fitch.
Eli and his wife Anna, Micah, Linda and Darin Dykstra. Photo courtesy Western Iowa Dairy Alliance.
DYKSTRA DAIRY: A LEGACY OF STEWARDSHIP
By Western Iowa Dairy Alliance, used with permission.
Near
Sioux and Plymouth County
by Darin Dykstra,
THE DYKSTRA FAMILY
The Dykstra family consists of: Darin and Linda, and their sons, Eli and Micah. Together, they embody the dedication and teamwork that fuel the farm’s success. Darin’s journey in dairy farming began years earlier, working on his family’s dairy in southern California. In 2002, the Dykstra’s made the life-changing decision to move to Iowa, seeking new opportunities. By February 2003, the dairy was up and running,
laying the foundation for what has become a flourishing business.
A GROWING VISION
Dykstra Dairy has continually evolved to meet the needs of the modern dairy industry. In 2010, the family built a heifer ranch to raise their own calves, a move that enhanced the quality and consistency of their herd. Over the years, they’ve expanded their
farmland, striving for greater selfsufficiency in feed production. This commitment to growth and sustainability reflects their dedication to improving both their farm and the environment.
DAIRY AT A GLANCE
Today, Dykstra Dairy milks 3,000 Holsteins three times a day using a state-of-the-art double 44 parallel parlor. The farm also grows a variety
of crops, including corn for silage, soybeans, and cover crops like rye and oats. Recently, they began growing corn for grain, further diversifying their operation and ensuring they’re prepared for the future.
What excites the Dykstra family most about dairy farming? “Seeing the improvements in genetics in both our cows and crops that allow them to reach such high potential,” said Darin. It’s this dedication to continuous improvement that sets
Dykstra Dairy apart. By combining innovation with tradition, they’ve built a farm that’s as resilient as it is productive.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
For the Dykstra family, their faith plays a central role in their work.
PASSION FOR PROGRESS
Scenic photos courtesy of Dykstra Dairy.
“Knowing that everything we have on our farm is a gift from God helps me have a mindset of stewardship so that I can better care for the land and animals He has given us,” said Eli. “We are not the ones ultimately in control, even though we try to be. It is by God’s grace that we are able to have productive land and animals.” This perspective not only sustains the Dykstra’s in their daily work but also serves as a source of inspiration for others in the dairy industry.
Compression Rack
THE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT IN IOWA
By Bob Fitch / 1st in a series
In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, an awareness began to form among Americans that natural resources did indeed have limits. The vast store of wildlife, rich land, clean water, and abundant forests in the United States were being eaten away by the voracious appetite of not only wealthy industrialists seeking to secure more wealth, but also by the common people, many of whom were immigrants from Europe who sought affordable means to simply make a living.
Shining a spotlight on the benefits of preserving natural areas and scenic wonders were artists and writers such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and George Catlin; public policy leaders such as Gifford Pinchot, John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt; and organizations such as the National Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. A great milestone for the movement was Congress designating Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872.
‘PRESERVE WIDE SPACES OF FINE SCENERY’
In Iowa, the watershed moment for the conservation movement came when the Iowa Legislature created the State Board of Conservation in 1917. The board was given the primary duties to manage the state parks as well as make recommendations for new state park land. To that end, in 1919, the board published its first annual report called Iowa Parks. Conservation of Iowa Historic, Scenic and Scientific Areas.
The report identified lands that had been set aside as state parks and or were in the midst of receiving that
Sioux quartzite outcroppings and “Jasper Pool” at the Gitchie Manitou Preserve in Lyon County. From the Iowa Parks report of 1919.
designation. A large portion of the publication provided the opportunity for multiple authors to make the case for state intervention on behalf of posterity to preserve land, animals, birds and plants. The introduction to the report was written by Ambassador James Bryce. Here is an except: “The places of scenic beauty do not increase, but, on the contrary, are in danger of being reduced in number and diminished in quantity, and the danger is always increasing with the accumulation of wealth, owing to the desire of private persons to appropriate these places. There is no better service we can provide to the masses of the people than to set about and preserve for them wide spaces of fine scenery for their
enjoyment of the people.”
SIOUX QUARTZITE AT GITCHIE MANITOU
In the months to come, Farming Families magazine will look back at the beginnings of Iowa’s conservation movement, especially as it applies to the places, flora and fauna in northwest Iowa. The articles within the 300-page State Board of Conservation report will allow us to hear directly from the voices of conservation and environmental
Gitchie Manitou is a 91-acre preserve, the first half of which was purchased by the state of Iowa in 1916, for use as a quarry, but
Sioux quartzite outcroppings and “Jasper Pool” at the Gitchie Manitou Preserve in Lyon County. Photo by Ben Hoese from www.alltrails.com.
to 1920, quartzite was quarried from what is now the northeast corner of the preserve. The quarry is now filled with water and is called “Jasper Pool.” The preserve contains prairie with over 130 species of plants.
Here are excepts from the 1919 Iowa Parks manuscript:
Gitchie Manito (author not cited)
“The extreme northwestern corner of Iowa is part of a larger area which is one of the beauty spots of the North American continent. It possesses great interest historically, prehistorically, scientifically (and) fictionally. (Where the great prairies of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota meet), Rarely in so small a compass is there so well displayed the effects of every great geologic process known. For countless ages, fire, flood and frost have played upon these rocks without
completely effacing them … As the culmination of a year’s study of geological science indoors this place is well worth a visit by every college student and teacher in geology.”
Geology of Lyon County, by Frank A. Wilder, Geologist.
“The Sioux quartzite, or ‘granite’ as it is commonly called, appears on the surface in a single township in Lyon County ... Instead of quartzite, originally the formation was water-laid sand … Cross bedding was not uncommon, indicating that, in places at least, the sand was deposited by rapidly running water. These characteristics are still preserved in the quartzite. Subsequently, the sand was permeated by water holding in solution silica which crystallized around the sand grains and cemented them together, producing a solid quartz mass.”
“Well drillings that have penetrated the quartzite show that in the midst of the harder rock are at times several feet of sand. An example of this sort is found in the well of the B.C.R.&N. Railroad at Ellsworth, Minn., one mile north of the Lyon County line, where the quartzite was encountered under 180 feet of drift and 50 feet of shale … The color of the rocks varies from pink to purple, red being the most prevalent.”
Sources
• Iowa Parks. Conservation of Iowa Historic, Scenic and Scientific Areas. Report of the State Board of Conservation, 1919. Published by the State of Iowa.
• “The Conservation Movement in America,” www.thoughtco.com
• “Gitchie Manitou State Preserve,” www.iowadnr.gov.
Agricultural Banking Experts
PBJ SMOOTHIE
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups frozen berries
1 banana, frozen
2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter, or almond butter
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
DIRECTIONS:
Add whole milk, Greek yogurt, berries, banana, powdered peanut butter and vanilla protein to a blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until ingredients are well blended. Pour smoothie into a glass and enjoy!
